|
|
Post by jmb23802 on Jul 23, 2019 9:07:04 GMT -5
I bought a new-to-me 2003 Regal 2200 at the end of the season last year and recently took it on a week-long trip where we used it every day on an inland lake. This is my second boat and I noticed what seemed to me like a lot of water accumulating in the bilge throughout the day (our first boat barely accumulated any water after a day on the water). This brings up a couple of questions:
1: What have others with the 2200 experienced in terms of water accumulation in the bilge?
My 2200 is accumulating nearly enough water to operate the bilge pump for a few seconds every day, which does not sound like much but it takes several gallons of water accumulation before the bilge pump will pick up any water - that seems like a lot of water during just a few hours of mostly floating in a cove. Some of the water gets in under the walk thru transom hatch when water washes up over swim platform as we come off plane I'm sure water gets inside the hatch and drains directly into the bilge, but that cannot account for all of it. Poking around under the engine hatch I can see water slowly accumulating beneath the swim platform on the extended running surfaces - I think water may be coming in through the holes in the hull for the stern eyes (these are submerged when boarding and waves lapping the hull) and there may be some water coming through under the rub rail where the sealant has started to fail in a couple of places. I also see an occasional drip from the hoses behind the thru-hull fittings beneath the swim platform. None of these alone seem like they are the main culprit, but concerned what other places I may be missing. In an upcoming trip I am going to take a wifi borescope and check for water ingress around the transom assembly behind and beneath the engine. Curious what others have experienced with this...
2: Does the Regal hull have wood coring? If water is coming in via the rub rail and the stern eyes then water is surely making contact with the core of the hull. Does anyone know if Regal used any wood coring on the hulls of these boats in 2003? I can see a light cream colored substance between the inner and outer fiberglass layers in some places - not sure if this is wood or some sort of synthetic material. If it is wood, I am going to put a much higher priority on chasing down the water issues above. I believe the stringers and transom are wood free, but not sure about the hull and deck liner...
|
|
|
|
Post by ME2660 on Jul 23, 2019 11:42:38 GMT -5
I have a 2001 Regal 2660 Commodore 4.3L twin Mercuiser alpha one and last year I started getting extra water in by bilge as well. It turned out to be the seal for the pivot shaft that the lower unit rotates on when you steer the boat. To rule this seal out, grab your lower unit and try to wiggle it back and forth. If there is a lot of play in the lower unit you may have to replace the seals. You can also look behind the engine were the steering arm goes threw the haul and see if there is water and/or gunk build build up there. I replaced the seal on both of my lower units and the seals where bad, most likely they went bad because of the age of the boat being 18 year old seal. This did fix the water getting into the bilge for my boat.
Hope this helps
Mark
|
|
|
|
Post by sgilbert on Jul 23, 2019 15:55:02 GMT -5
My leakage was from the shifter bellows. Had replaced, and all ok.
|
|
|
|
Post by jmb23802 on Jul 24, 2019 8:57:52 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. I forgot to mention my outdrive is a Volvo Penta SX.
me2660: My understanding is the steering/pivot arm is sealed beneath a plate at the top of the gimbal assembly that is typically above the water line on the VP drives. However, not 100% sure that is correct. This is an interesting idea - I will check this out and see if it might be related to my water issue as well.
sgilbert: No shifter bellows on the VP-SX drive. I did, however, put a new drive bellow on this Spring. I replaced it as a preventive measure and didn't really operate the boat much before I replaced the drive bellow so I don't have a baseline for comparison - it is possible something went awry when I installed the drive bellow and will confirm this is not contributing to my issue.
I will be taking the boat on a trip in a few weeks. Going to take my borescope and a pointer stick and look around behind and beneath the engine to confirm the steering/pivot arm, "Y" pipe and the transom assembly seal is not contributing. Going to look around inside the bilge back at the rub rail to pinpoint the ingress areas and get a better idea how much volume is coming through. I may also temporarily seal off the drain in the bottom of the hatch at the walk-thru area to get an idea just how much water is getting in when the wake washes up on the swim platform (this always happens when coming off plane unless we throttle down very slowly). Hopefully can chase this down easily enough.
Anyone know if Regal used wood coring in the hull of the 2200?
|
|
|
|
Post by ME2660 on Jul 24, 2019 14:53:43 GMT -5
Jmb23802
On the merc it is above the water line, however if you pull the through pack, big waves, ext. water did get in.
Mark
|
|
|
|
Post by jmb23802 on Aug 19, 2019 16:54:54 GMT -5
Got back from another visit to the lake. Appears most of the water is coming in the following places: - Under the rub rail beneath the swim platform area in a couple of places where the sealant has failed.
- Through the floor drains inside the walk-thru hatch/compartment when coming off plane or people dragging water on board (the rubber/foam sealing bead for the walk-thru hatch/compartment has failed and lets some water enter the compartment where it drains eventually into the bilge, despite the functioning hatch scupper),
- A small hole through the deck in the compartment for the swim ladder that a previous owner drilled (and didn't seal) to pass a transducer wire - this one seems to only be an issue when coming off plane but would allow a fair amount of water into the bilge as the hole is roughly the size of a nickel and provides direct path of ingress to the engine compartment when submerged.
I laid across the top of the engine and could not observe any evidence of water ingress at or near the steering arm area.
The good news for me is the walk-thru hatch seal and the hole in the swim ladder compartment are a quick and easy fix. The rub rail will be a bit more complex (haven't worked with one before) but seems straight forward.
Anyone know what sealant Regal uses under the rub rail? The sealant on mine seems to be some type of white caulk that is very pliable and resilient. My experience with the characteristics of 3M 5200/4200/4000 adhesive sealants (which I would expect to see here) is very different than what I have here. Life caulk or white marine silicone, maybe?
|
|
|
|
Post by sgilbert on Aug 19, 2019 18:34:10 GMT -5
Highly recommend Gorilla clear silicone sealant. Always have a tube on hand. (It's far superior to GE brand)
|
|
|
|
Post by jmb23802 on Aug 21, 2019 8:17:10 GMT -5
Highly recommend Gorilla clear silicone sealant. Always have a tube on hand. (It's far superior to GE brand) Interesting idea. Due to silicone's very low adhesive properties (and the availability of superior alternatives) I would generally not consider using silicone anywhere on a boat - seen it fail to do the job (and create problems that make a secondary repair more difficult) FAR more than I have seen it be useful. Not familiar with the Gorilla brand version, though, so I'll look into it. Appreciate the suggestion. |
|
|
|
Post by sgilbert on Aug 21, 2019 9:38:08 GMT -5
I use it on all thru transom wiring (transducer, speedo paddle wheel) and on the drain plug each spring before launch. I see no reason it wouldn't work well on the rub rail.
Adhesion and adhesive qualities is very good, yet removable if needed.
|
|
